Match-box.



. terior 'of the box.

GORDON W. MORGAN, OF SALEM, VIRGINIA.

MATCH-B OX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 2, 1908.

Application filed. May 18, 1907. Serial No. 374,317.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GORDON W. MORGAN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Salem, in the county of Roanoke and State ofVirginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Match-Boxes, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This'invention relates to match boxes, and one of the principal objectsofthe same is to rovide simple and efficient means for de iveringmatches one at a time from the in- Another object of the invention is toprovide a match safe or box from which matches may be delivered one at atime, and to provide means for preventing the delivery mechanism frombecoming clogged, and thus preventing the proper operation of saiddelivery mechanism.

These and other objects may be attained by means of the constructionillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a match box or safe made inaccordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the vertically sliding gate. Fig. 4 is adetail perspective view of the sliding wedge for lifting the gate. Fig.5 is a front elevation of the match safe or box. Fig. 6 is asectional'view on the line 66, of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a similar view onthe line 77, Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings for a more particular description of myinvention, the numeral 1 designates the body portion of the match box orsafe provided with a cover 2 hinged as at 3, to the body of the box,said box resting upon a suitable base 4. An inclined floor 5 extendsfrom the back toward the front of the box, said floor havingija seriesof transverse grooves 6 and inclined faces 7 near the lower portionthereof. Connected tothe lower side of the fioor is a partition 8, andconnected to the lower end of the partition 8 is an inclined chute 9which communicates with a match tray 10 formed upon the front side ofthe base portion 4, said match tray having a flange 11 extendingfaroundthe front and opposite'sides thereof.

A sliding gate 12, preferably formedfi'of sheet metal, and provided withside posts 13 is mounted to slide in guideways 14 formed in the oppositesides of the boX. or casing 1, said sliding gate being open at its lowerend and provided with a front wall 15 and an inner wall 16, said innerwall being provided with a series of projections 17, and an outletopening 18, while the outer wall 15 is provided with a sight opening'19.

Secured to the front of the box is a plate 20 having an aperture 21therein, said plate being secured to the front of the box by screws 22,the upper portion 23 of said plate being disposed above the cross piece24 a suffieient distance to form a guideway for a sliding wedge 25, saidwedge comprising a cross bar having spaced wedges 26 which engage thelower edge of the sliding gate, and a finger piece 27 projecting throughthe aperture 21 in the plate 20, said wedge being normally forcedoutward by means of the springs 28, having their outer ends curvedoutwardly as at 29 to bear upon the finger piece 27 in the recesses 30,said springs being held in lace by means of screws or pins 31. Upon t eside of the box or safe a match striker 32 is secured.

The operation of my match safe may be briefly described as follows: Aquantity of matches are placed in the chamber a of the box, said matchesbeing disposed transversely upon the inclined floor 5, and one of saidmatches passing out through the opening 18 to lie between the walls 15and 16 of the sliding gate. To deliver a match the sliding wedge ismoved inward by pushing the finger piece 27 against the tension of thesprings 28, the wedges 26 moving under the gate 12 and raising the sameto discharge a match onto the chute 9, and into the tray 10. Theprojections 17 serve to roll the matches and to prevent them fromclogging the opening 18 at each movement of the gate, while the grooves6 and the inclined faces 7 hold back the column of matches to deliverone at a time through the opening 18 and between the walls 15 and 16 ofthe sliding gate.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that a match safe made inaccordance with my invention is comparatively simple in construction,will operate efficiently for its purpose, will not clog the matches, andcan be manufactured at slight cost.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a match safe, an inclined floor provided with a series of groovesand adjacent inclined faces, in combination with a vertically slidinggate provided with spaced outer and inner walls, the inner Wall beingprovided with a delivery aperture and a sliding wedge for raising thegate and delivering the match.

2. A match safe comprising a casing having an inclined floor therein, aseries of transverse grooves formed in said floor, a vertically slidinggate provided with an outer and an inner Wall spaced apart, said innerwall having a delivery opening, and provided with a series ofprojections to prevent clogging of the matches, and a sliding wedge forraising the gate and delivering the match, said wedge being providedwith springs for moving the same in one direction.

3. A match safe provided with an inclined GORDON WV. MORGAN.

Witnesses:

J. M. MORGAN, M. B. MARTIN.

